Our hospitals make safety a priority

Published: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 2:56 p.m.

If you have ever spent time in a hospital, you may have grumbled about the food, or getting woken up repeatedly, or just the discomfort of being ill in unfamiliar surroundings. But area residents can take comfort in knowing that three mountain hospitals are ranked safest in the state, and in the case of Hendersonville’s Pardee Hospital, among the safest in the nation.

Pardee was just named the seventh safest hospital in the United States and the safest in North Carolina by Consumer Reports. Park Ridge Health and Mission Health were ranked second and third safest in the state, respectively.

The report was based on the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and independent sources on 2,591 hospitals in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. Consumer Reports also interviewed patients, physicians, hospital administrators and safety experts, reviewed medical literature and looked at hospital inspections and investigations. It arrived at the rankings by studying data in five categories: mortality, readmission, scanning, infections and communication.

Pardee ranked 73 on a 100-point scale, while both Park Ridge and Mission received scores of 69. The average safety ranking among hospitals in the report was 51. The safest hospital in the nation, Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, Maine, scored 78.

Pardee has previously been recognized for everything from its surgical outcomes to how happy its nurses are. Yet the Consumer Reports ranking is special. It is easy for people to understand and recognizes the hospital’s dedication to safety, hospital officials say.

“It’s valuable to say how safe this hospital is, because this hospital has put a lot of effort into establishing positive health outcomes,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Kiskaddon said.

For instance, Pardee has a subcommittee that meets monthly to discuss how well the hospital is doing with more than 60 quality indicators. Medical teams monitor how well they are doing on a daily basis.

“When we see areas where a process needs to be improved, we establish a rapid-cycle improvement team,” he said. “You have to take this stuff very seriously, and you don’t wait to see an accumulation of problems before you jump on it.”

That’s the kind of diligence one would expect at a hospital ranked among the 10 safest in the nation. This is a big deal when one considers there are 5,723 hospitals in the United States registered with the American Hospital Association.

Medical errors are linked to 440,000 deaths each year in the USA. The rankings give consumers important information for what could potentially be life-and-death decisions, noted Doris Peter, director of Consumer Reports’ Health Ratings System. “If you see that your hospital that you’re considering going to has poor performance on hospital infections or communication about discharge instruction, these are preventable things and could potentially change your outcome,” she said.

It is remarkable that the three hospitals rated safest in North Carolina are all right here in Henderson and Buncombe counties. Thanks to the diligence of staff at Pardee, Park Ridge and Mission, residents can have confidence no matter which hospital they choose.

<p>If you have ever spent time in a hospital, you may have grumbled about the food, or getting woken up repeatedly, or just the discomfort of being ill in unfamiliar surroundings. But area residents can take comfort in knowing that three mountain hospitals are ranked safest in the state, and in the case of Hendersonville’s Pardee Hospital, among the safest in the nation.</p><p>Pardee was just named the seventh safest hospital in the United States and the safest in North Carolina by Consumer Reports. Park Ridge Health and Mission Health were ranked second and third safest in the state, respectively.</p><p>The report was based on the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and independent sources on 2,591 hospitals in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. Consumer Reports also interviewed patients, physicians, hospital administrators and safety experts, reviewed medical literature and looked at hospital inspections and investigations. It arrived at the rankings by studying data in five categories: mortality, readmission, scanning, infections and communication.</p><p>Pardee ranked 73 on a 100-point scale, while both Park Ridge and Mission received scores of 69. The average safety ranking among hospitals in the report was 51. The safest hospital in the nation, Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, Maine, scored 78.</p><p>Pardee has previously been recognized for everything from its surgical outcomes to how happy its nurses are. Yet the Consumer Reports ranking is special. It is easy for people to understand and recognizes the hospital’s dedication to safety, hospital officials say.</p><p>It’s valuable to say how safe this hospital is, because this hospital has put a lot of effort into establishing positive health outcomes, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Kiskaddon said.</p><p>For instance, Pardee has a subcommittee that meets monthly to discuss how well the hospital is doing with more than 60 quality indicators. Medical teams monitor how well they are doing on a daily basis.</p><p>When we see areas where a process needs to be improved, we establish a rapid-cycle improvement team, he said. You have to take this stuff very seriously, and you don’t wait to see an accumulation of problems before you jump on it.</p><p>That’s the kind of diligence one would expect at a hospital ranked among the 10 safest in the nation. This is a big deal when one considers there are 5,723 hospitals in the United States registered with the American Hospital Association.</p><p>Medical errors are linked to 440,000 deaths each year in the USA. The rankings give consumers important information for what could potentially be life-and-death decisions, noted Doris Peter, director of Consumer Reports’ Health Ratings System. If you see that your hospital that you’re considering going to has poor performance on hospital infections or communication about discharge instruction, these are preventable things and could potentially change your outcome, she said.</p><p>It is remarkable that the three hospitals rated safest in North Carolina are all right here in Henderson and Buncombe counties. Thanks to the diligence of staff at Pardee, Park Ridge and Mission, residents can have confidence no matter which hospital they choose.</p>